Procrastination

Are You Plagued with Procrastination?

If you’re one of the few people who isn’t plagued with the problem of procrastination
then you’re blessed beyond all measure.  This thief of time can quietly rob you of
precious minutes, yea hours, before you realize they’re gone.  You search for them and
wonder where the time has gone, but it’s too late. I wonder where the day has gone too?!?
The task you intended to complete today was put off until tomorrow and there was good
reason to do so, but you can’t remember why just now.  Procrastination comes in many
disguises.  It’s called rationalization sometimes.   You say, “I didn’t get started on that
project because the weather was too hot or I didn’t have all the parts.”  One can always
come up with many good reasons to delay a project. Countless times in fact!
Procrastination can become a habit and if you keep putting off getting new habits then
procrastination will be your constant companion.  We find ways to delay a task because
there are other things more important to do. Sometimes you just dont want to do the task.
Mine is checking my bank balance!

Many times these are merely excuses such
as checking your email, playing an on-line game or surfing the TV to see if you’re
missing something interesting.

You must recognize a real reason to delay as opposed to just an excuse not to do
something you don’t want to do.  Ask yourself if that job really needs to be done and if
your answer is yes then get it done and then reward yourself for a victory over
procrastination.  When the job is complete, step back and assess what you’ve done to see
if it was worth the time and effort.  Perhaps you were procrastinating for good reason, but
that’s rarely the case.

Lack of direction can cause you to procrastinate because you’re not sure what to do next.

Disorganization could be the father of procrastination.  Get organized with a to-do list
with the most urgent at the top.  Make a deal with yourself that you cannot do anything
else until you accomplish at least one thing on the list.

Huge projects can be daunting whether you’re writing a book or building a house.  You
can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel because the elephant is standing in the way.
Cut a slice out of that elephant one day at a time and soon it will be gone.  A small
manageable task is much more palatable than trying to swallow the entire project.
I am creating another blog at the moment. One post a day is better than none! No
matter how small the success it’s another step toward completion.

Make a decision on what needs to be done and do it.  Even if it’s wrong at least you’ve
done something.  Indecision can cause major delays in both your business and personal
live.  It’s easier to make a decision if you create a list of the pros and cons of what needs
to be done.  Once you have a clear direction, your mind clears and the path becomes

Fear of failure can cause procrastination.  The failure lies in never getting started.

Difficult and dreaded tasks are rarely as bad as they seem at the beginning.  Stop
procrastinating today.  Don’t put it off until tomorrow.

The Silver Linings of Hopeless Situations

You’ve probably said it yourself and didn’t really believe it: the old saying that behind every dark cloud, there is a silver lining. It’s hard to have much faith in that advice when that cloud is dumping buckets of rain on your parade. But, sure enough, it wasn’t long until the rain stopped and you were walking in sunshine again.

It’s the same with hopeless situations. We’ve all faced them when we know we’re going to lose or fail at something very important to us. It could be your business, a marriage, just a board game or a game of cards.

You’re playing your best, but no matter what you do losing is inevitable. Everything you did seemed right at the time and by the time you discover your mistakes, it’s too late. First of all, it’s never too late until the game of life deals you the death card.

The game of Monopoly can be a perfect teacher of how to play your life. We roll the dice, land on the right properties and make the right buys. But, somehow other players bought better properties and built bigger hotels and stayed out of jail. No matter what you did you kept paying their rent and fines and had to mortgage your valuable holdings just to stay afloat.

Playing at life can be a losing battle at times too. You’re doing all the right things, you budget, plan for the future but failure comes anyway. No matter what you do it all leads to the same outcome like a bad dream where you’re moving in slow motion and you plod to the finish line that says loser.

You may be faced with a hopeless situation at this very moment and you’ve contemplated taking a long walk on a short pier. Hey, it’s okay to lose if you turn those losses into gains!

If you realize there is no way to win, learn from your past mistakes, dust yourself off and try again. If you see you’re going to lose, stop playing to win and start playing to learn. It’s when you learn that you win.

You’ve probably been focused on the long term gain and failed to see the mistakes you kept making in the past. When you play to learn there’s always some measure of victory. Just like in Monopoly, you learn from each roll of the dice.

Analyze your past moves and see where you could have done better so you don’t make the same mistakes again. There is always another roll of the dice and always another game to play.

Playing the game again doesn’t guarantee a win but it guarantees another learning opportunity. You may learn you lack basic skills to ever win until you master them. If you’re stuck in this situation find a way to get out of it and move forward. Know that you can’t undo the past mistakes so don’t get stressed out over them. Use them as stepping stones to a future win.

Life is always offering a fresh new perspective if we choose to see it. We all lose and others have made worst mistakes than you. Be a gracious loser. If perchance you’ve never lost, then maybe you’re not living life to its fullest and leaving a lot of money (and happiness) on the table. There are no hopeless situations when you turn them into learning experiences and search for the silver lining.

Happiness Blip

OK OK I had a blip, by some perspectives a small one, by my own perspective a massive one. I shall not go into detail as to what happened and why but it did result in being penniless in foreign lands and not being able to return home. To which when I was able to I was still left homeless and penniless. Before we go into todays post lets just view a picture if we may for a while.

This is a great quote and unfortunately the man or woman who said it as far as I know is unknown.

With that said lets move on and think about the words:-

• Be selective in your battles

This by my own recent experience means that if you seek to hold a grudge against a being that has upset you, ask yourself can you truly acheive your happiness again without the massive burdan of taking on not only the being that caused your unhappiness but also taking on the great powers that believe in them rather than yourself. Even if you have evidence to the contarary you would still have to alocate energy and time to make the change. Which leads us to the next words:-

• Peace is better than being right

Now these words ring true so much so for me and hopefully you. I now by letting go of the anger and frustration that the recent past dealt me have acheived my inner happiness again. (Hence my return here) By allowing myself to know that not everything that happens in the world is going to be right and that there will be times when life delivers to you a string of "Bad luck" I get to know that this is just a "Blip" in time. That blip in time will change and I will obtain my happiness again. This is what has happened I have had a blip and now am back again.

Write soon Jason

Are You Inspired By Self-Motivation?

Are You Inspired By Self-Motivation?

Finding the key to self-motivation is finding the key to success and happiness. It can be an elusive key, as self-motivation is a difficult concept to understand and implement. Self-motivation can be defined as the ability to achieve a goal or a desire without being helped or influenced by someone else. Remember how I mentioned in previous posts about goal setting?  

There are many motivation courses one can take to achieve and maintain the level of enthusiasm needed to move forward. It’s generally agreed that these courses are good, but results can most of the time be only temporary. Motivation is like a bath. We need it every day. 

With a constant daily dose of motivation you can be inspired to continue your projects and maintain forward momentum until the desired goal is reached. Motivation allows us to maintain focus on the task at hand. If we’re not focused then we find ourselves floundering and distracted. Self-motivation is finding a way to concentrate your energy in the proper direction. It is an art.

Find the method of self-motivation that works for you. Some gain motivation through religion. They believe if they turn their needs and desires over to God or a higher power, that He will accomplish all things and grant all things as they’re needed in life.

This is achieved through prayer, meditation and focus. Faith can be a powerful motivator but even the faithful believe that faith without works is futile. Faith combined with work can achieve wonders.

Many people are inspired by self-motivation, but lack the skill to implement it. You first must harness your emotions and you can do this by understanding them. Realize that there will be highs and lows in your life. Imagine now if were happy all the time? It is an impossibility as how would you know when you were happy if you had never experienced sadness.

Some days you’ll have to be peeled from the ceiling and other days someone will have to scrape you from the floor. Self motivators can deal with this wide range of emotions by knowing that beyond every valley, there is a peak.

A surge of energy usually comes with the beginning of a project or idea and self-motivation comes easily. But, after the new wears off and you encounter a few setbacks you begin to doubt yourself and your energy level drops as well as your motivation. Now, you’re faced with the possibility of failure and it’s difficult to continue.

The path to success is never straight up the mountain. Know that you’ll meet many obstacles along the way. With self-motivation, you will find a way to go up, over, around or under anything that stands in your way.

Be prepared for the lows and anticipate the highs. You must resist negativity and search for the path back to positive thinking. With proper direction, creative thinking and reflection you can once again ride the road to success. Be inspired by self motivation and self motivation will inspire you. Each feeds on the other as you maximize motivation.   

Tips On Reducing Stress

Hi Jason here...

If you don't manage stress, it will find a way to manage you. Stress can be very invasive in your life. It loves to be in the driver's seat and you hand over the keys without fail on a regular basis because you feel defeated by it.

You might blame the boss, the long cue at the bank or your partner for your stress. You can't control what other people do or say, but you can manage some of the smaller irritations in your world in order to reduce your stress.

Here are some stress triggers that you have the ability to bring under management:

Clutter – The more "stuff" you have, the more time and attention it requires to maintain. One way to reduce that demand is to eliminate some of the stuff that you don't really need.

Start room by room and take a critical look at the time demands of your stuff. Pledge to give away or throw away at least two clutter items from every room. Don't just do this once, do it once a month. Obviously though do not give it all away.

Buy Less – You brought that clutter into the house, so don't bring in more. Before you buy a new wok or 26-piece baking set, think about how often you would actually use those items. Do you have any other kitchen equipment that can double for the same purposes?

Magazine Perfect Housekeeping – Unless you can afford a full time housekeeper, you need to accept that clean is good enough. Save the frantic furniture polishing and baseboard wiping for quarterly cleaning or preparing for a party. Remember that rooms in magazines look so great because no one lives there to mess them up.

Clothes Horse Needs Taming – Buying clothes is a kind of wardrobe clutter addiction that can get out of control. Clothing isn't just something on a hanger. You have to wash, mend, press or take it to the dry cleaners.

If you have an over-stuffed wardrobe, it's actually harder to get dressed in the morning. Too many choices become stressful - as does not being able to find the other shoe, so you waste time changing outfits.

Trim down the wardrobe. If you need help, ask a fashionable friend or hire a wardrobe consultant to work with you. 

 These are just a few ways to manage stress by dealing with the things in your home. You can apply the same strategy to the “stuff” in your office.

Gearing Up to Quit Smoking

Gearing Up to Quit Smoking

Who knew that smoking was going to take over so much of your life? Now here you are - ready to act on your decision to quit smoking. Even though you really want to quit, it’s going to be much harder to stop than it was to start.

Not everyone in your life understands what you’re facing. There are those people who say, “Be strong and just do it!” You’re trying to smile while thinking, “If only it was that easy.”

Then there are those people who flaunt the latest medical horror stories about disease and smoking, hoping that will convince you to quit smoking. What your well-meaning friends and family are missing is that you already have the desire to quit smoking.

Congratulate yourself - because that places you halfway to your goal. That last half is going to be difficult and frustrating and time consuming. So when the “helpful” people ask whether or not you’ve quit yet, you say, “Yes - I’m becoming a non-smoker.”

That’s better than saying, “I'm trying to quit.” To say try about anything is like having your fingers crossed just in case it doesn’t work out. That’s why you need to have your words fairly reinforce your efforts.

How long will it take to quit smoking? That can vary depending on many factors. Just because one person was able to quit earlier than you do, don’t let that get you down. Every day you make the effort to quit smoking is one day closer to your goal, no matter how long or short that timeframe is.

For Once…It’s Good to Be a Quitter!

Motivation Techniques To Try

If you were to climb a mountain and upon reaching the summit you would be greeted by a man there who knew everything you ever wanted to know, what would your question be? Some may ask, "How can I create great wealth for myself?"  Others may want to know how to live long and healthy lives for ever but yet, there would be one or two who would ask, "How can I keep myself motivated and keep others motivated as well?".

If we gain the motivation we seek for ourselves and others then we do indeed have the basic tools to acquire almost everything else a satisfactory and contented life needs. Imagine the disappointment you would feel after you had climbed that mountain asked the question:-
"How can I gain motivation and motivate others around me?"
With the reply by the old man of:-
"To know thyself and be kind?"

These are wise words and hold much truth, but it’s a pretty broad answer. To motivate or be motivated requires learning and dedication. Motivation is a skill that can be easily learned if you possess dedication. We use motivation daily at home and at work. Subconsciously we’re striving to motivate ourselves and those we come in contact with.

We use our innate motivation skills to acquire the results we seek. We use these skills on our partners, children, our work colleagues  and our friends each and everyday to get our way. It’s a delicate balance between communication and persuasion. Maybe the old man knew what he was talking about when he advised to know yourself and be kind to others. For after all to have that quality about you will no doubt help you in being able to motivate others.  It’s long been said that we attract more flies with honey than vinegar.

Offering rewards is an often used motivational tool. If you dangle a reward on a stick whether it’s dangling in front of you or someone else it can be quite an incentive. The greater the reward usually the more productive you get. Not many people toil for the sheer love of working anymore.

Set a deadline. Not only do people balk at working for nothing, they must have a deadline or it will never get done. Would you pay taxes if you were allowed to pay them at your own discretion? Many still won’t begin a project until the deadline approaches.  You’re more likely to complete a project if you impose a deadline.

Set goals. Setting a goal lets you know where you’re going. It’s hard to hit a moving target and a goal helps you focus on where you want to be and at a certain time. Use both short and long term goals. The short-term goals can be steps to reach the long-term objective. Each time you satisfy a short-term goal, you’ll feel your inner motivation growing.

Expect the best and settle for nothing less. If you’re doing the task or someone else is doing the task for you, insist on the best results or at the very least demand improvement over the last task. Pride should motivate you to do your very best.

Enjoy your work by making it fun and stimulating. Work that’s fun doesn’t seem like work at all. Stay stimulated by doing various projects that take you a step closer to the major goal. Stay happy and productive and you’ll stay motivated.